New hire to the OR

WhoDatWhoDare, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2014

Congratulations! I hope you love it as much as I have. I'm a recent graduate and have been in the OR for 4 months now. I've got my Periop 101 final exam scheduled for next week and then I'll be done with my internship/orientation.

ALORNurse · Nov 5, 2014

Hello! I have been an OR nurse for four years now and I LOVE it! Wouldn't want to do anything else! I started right out of nursing school in the OR and have never wanted to do anything else! Not sure how all hospitals do it but where I work the nurses scrub and circulate and that makes the job a million times more interesting! Good luck and congratulations on your new job!

heather42r · Nov 6, 2014

I think some of their nurses scrub - it would be interesting to learn that part too! One thing at a time though! The orientation is about a year long - they said if you need that much time, great, if you don't, great. It's individual as to how much time you need. It sounds great - and I hope it is as good as it seems! :)

Have fun with the Periop exam dlwoodjr...sounds scary!!

FeMaMaFutureRN · Nov 6, 2014

Hi heather42r, I will be starting an OR Nurse position on November 17, straight out of Nursing School as well. I will be moving from Florida to Arizona so it's even more nerve racking!!! Good luck to us all!!!

heather42r · Nov 6, 2014

Ha, I just moved from about an hour outside Tucson, AZ to WI :)

heather42r · Nov 6, 2014

What would be helpful things to bring the first day?

FeMaMaFutureRN · Nov 6, 2014

Wow, that's really close. I was wondering that as well. What should I pack in my nursing bag.

Editorial Team / Admin · Nov 6, 2014

What would be helpful things to bring the first day?

A full stomach. Breakfast is essential, and one of the last things you want to do on your first day is pass out.

A small notebook. This allows you to take notes that are more personalized/detailed than what the preference card provides.

An attitude that includes willingness to study. If you can, (obviously not possible the first day), get copies of the preference cards for cases that you might be assigned to the following day. It's possible that staff assignments will be made the day before (they are at my facility and the other local facilities) and knowing ahead of time what cases you'll be in on will give you the opportunity to prepare.

What should I pack in my nursing bag.

Honestly, people bringing bags into the OR is one of my pet peeves- it's from the "outside" and constitutes an infection risk. Hoping you meant that in a figurative sense and not literal.

Either way, there is a wealth of information throughout this thread- if you do a search for new to OR or similar terms, some of the older threads with great tips will pop up.

Guttercat, ASN, RN · Nov 7, 2014

Congrats! That is wonderful and I wish you much joy and success.

I find it funny, though, because OR (along with OB) were my last choices of where I wanted to land upon finishing college. I nearly passed out from boredom during my OR rotation--if they had handed me a scalpel I might have felt differently.

I DID pass out in my OB rotation. Gads that was gross.

Just goes to show, different strokes for different folks. I love it when I hear of a new grad finding a good fit right out of the gate. Go forth and do great things! :)

heather42r · Nov 7, 2014

FeMaMaFutureRN - I came from Ft. Huachuca area so if you are going to be near there I can tell you what's around there if you need any information :)

Thanks for the help Rose_Queen! I get my locker on the first day - I'm happy to not have to bring a lot, or a bag ugh. Less to forget

danunn67 · Nov 8, 2014

congratulations you guys! I have to say, I went straight to the OR from graduation too! I got hired while I was on my last 2 weeks of school doing surgical rotation (we get to choose where we want to spend the last two weeks of school and I chose the OR) glad I did it. haven't done anything but OR nursing since then and still loving it, although I am seriously thinking of travel nursing.